Out of business, out of job & out of luck, Need Advice!

[killharder]

Hi there,

Need kind advice here.

At the age of 37, unable to stomach my boss's tyranny, I left the job within a year abruptly. My pay was $6k then. I started a unplanned business and ended up losing a fortune with my business partner who later declared bankrupt (but not me). Although I am down and out, I started sending tons of resume, signed up few expensive Entrepreneur/Tradings' courses and visited CDC. After 2 years of job hunting, exhausted my contacts and savings, I found my option is getting lesser and lesser with bills piling up fast with 2 kids to feed. I even went to learning institution to be selected for 'place & train' program on some junior IT positions as I don't mind severe pay-cut but they ask me to wait & wait......

On CDC, they finally give me a call 6 mths later & the officer asked me "Have you found a job yet?" I heart sank as I am expecting answer such as "I may have jobs opening for you.."

On 2 rare given job interviews, they asked less than 5 questions and the whole session ended less than 5-7 minutes. I was thinking my age & unsuccessful business venture could be a deterring factor.

At the age of 39, I am totally lost. Life has lost its color and I don't really wish to end up to be a taxi driver as I don't wish to disappoint my unknowing aging parent.

Tks for reading.

I empathise with you, but sadly you are in a screwed up state where not much can be done except to try continuosly. 39 years old, unemployed for 2 years, failed business, it's gona be tough convincing any employer. Wose come to worse go for the low level jobs like security guard, administrator, storekeeper etc.

That's why I always tell people NEVER to quit your job without another in hand. Quite frankly with 4 mouths to feed and near the danger zone of 40 years old, I'm surprised you actually chose to venture out.

I guess that's life, you took a gamble and the cards didn't turn our right for you.

[Anonymous]

Originally Posted by killharder

Hi there,



At the age of 39, I am totally lost. Life has lost its color and I don't really wish to end up to be a taxi driver as I don't wish to disappoint my unknowing aging parent.

Tks for reading.

Hey don't lose heart! did you try e2i? don't mind me asking, what are your qualifications? that might shed more light on the possible alternatives.

I read your situation and I empathize with you. Have this to share with other readers:

I myself had quit my job in a moment of anger (due to bonus/promotion disappointment) about 6-7 months ago. It was the first firm I was in and I was less than 5 years into my job. My boss had promoted a colleague over me and I was very upset cause I was expecting a promotion that year. On hindsight, I was too rash and too proud.

Credit to my previous boss, he had given me a few weeks to reconsider. Even set me up for interviews within the bank. He said that I was being rash and he didn't want me to quit in moment of anger. I didn't believe him and thought he was just putting up an act. Nevertheless ,we have since made-up and he invited me back to his house over the new year. Also offered me my job back.

Once I quit without a job, I started to contact head-hunters and even competitors (who had wanted to hire me before). All of them shunned me and asked questions about the "real reason" why I quit. They assumed that there must be something wrong. Even if they did believe that it was not a performance issue, they didn't take well to the fact that I could quit on impulse (afraid I would do this on them)

Before, when I was still in my job. My team was ranked top 3 in SG. Had offers of 30-40% pay rise plus bonus guarantee to switch firm. Once I quit without a job, all these offers disappeared. After 3 weeks, I started to beg around.. even offer to take pay-cut.

Word got out.. back to previous employer. Some of my ex colleagues asked me to consider returning. Thank god that I finally found a job through a friend's help. This was in a totally different line (although still in financial services).

Lesson learnt. I definitely won't repeat this again.

Hi Killharder,

I have tried that as well, but I have been fortunate to find a job within 3 months.

Whereas for your case, you have failed business and that would be hard to justify for some potential employers.

But if I were you, I would tell them employers frankly the reason for why you have decided to leave (maybe you can skip the part of not happy with your boss and leave without a job). Maybe a simple twig, like you have gone into a business venture with a friend and it didn't work out well after within a certain period of time. You should emphasize on what you have done in your business venture, like what sort of products you are selling/making, what types of strategies you have adopted, why did your business fail in the first case. Some potential employers will be interested to know because it tells you about the entrepreneurial spirit of the individual, not many brave souls out there is willing to sacrifice a stable job to venture out.

In this way, you would be able to look for higher responsibilities roles, than mere operational roles. The key issue is to how hard you will try to prove yourself to the future employer, and that is what makes the difference.

I wish you the best in your career search.

Originally Posted by killharder

Hi there,

Need kind advice here.

At the age of 37, unable to stomach my boss's tyranny, I left the job within a year abruptly. My pay was $6k then. I started a unplanned business and ended up losing a fortune with my business partner who later declared bankrupt (but not me). Although I am down and out, I started sending tons of resume, signed up few expensive Entrepreneur/Tradings' courses and visited CDC. After 2 years of job hunting, exhausted my contacts and savings, I found my option is getting lesser and lesser with bills piling up fast with 2 kids to feed. I even went to learning institution to be selected for 'place & train' program on some junior IT positions as I don't mind severe pay-cut but they ask me to wait & wait......

On CDC, they finally give me a call 6 mths later & the officer asked me "Have you found a job yet?" I heart sank as I am expecting answer such as "I may have jobs opening for you.."

On 2 rare given job interviews, they asked less than 5 questions and the whole session ended less than 5-7 minutes. I was thinking my age & unsuccessful business venture could be a deterring factor.

At the age of 39, I am totally lost. Life has lost its color and I don't really wish to end up to be a taxi driver as I don't wish to disappoint my unknowing aging parent.

Tks for reading.

[killharder]

Originally Posted by Anonymous

Hey don't lose heart! did you try e2i? don't mind me asking, what are your qualifications? that might shed more light on the possible alternatives.

Tried e2i but ineffective, basically these govt bodies catered toward blue-collar
BA Arts (econ & political science major)

Originally Posted by killharder

Hi there,

Need kind advice here.

At the age of 37, unable to stomach my boss's tyranny, I left the job within a year abruptly. My pay was $6k then. I started a unplanned business and ended up losing a fortune with my business partner who later declared bankrupt (but not me). Although I am down and out, I started sending tons of resume, signed up few expensive Entrepreneur/Tradings' courses and visited CDC. After 2 years of job hunting, exhausted my contacts and savings, I found my option is getting lesser and lesser with bills piling up fast with 2 kids to feed. I even went to learning institution to be selected for 'place & train' program on some junior IT positions as I don't mind severe pay-cut but they ask me to wait & wait......

On CDC, they finally give me a call 6 mths later & the officer asked me "Have you found a job yet?" I heart sank as I am expecting answer such as "I may have jobs opening for you.."

On 2 rare given job interviews, they asked less than 5 questions and the whole session ended less than 5-7 minutes. I was thinking my age & unsuccessful business venture could be a deterring factor.

At the age of 39, I am totally lost. Life has lost its color and I don't really wish to end up to be a taxi driver as I don't wish to disappoint my unknowing aging parent.

Tks for reading.

If you are really desperate, you should lower your pride and at least start to apply for a taxi licence. I heard over radio that a cab driver can possibly make a net profit of 4k/mth. Not high, but enough to get by. At least it's better than sitting around at home doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

Originally Posted by killharder

Tried e2i but ineffective, basically these govt bodies catered toward blue-collar
BA Arts (econ & political science major)

what was your job scope in the previous job you quitted?

[killharder]

Originally Posted by Anonymous

what was your job scope in the previous job you quitted?

sry, don't feel comfortable posting it here. if u were me, u too will feel the same as me.

Get a taxi licence first. Keep it as a backup.